J-K statehood awaited, Omar Abdullah govt not keen on local body polls before it

“The reins of power are in Delhi. There is a multi-level command structure in the UT… Until statehood is restored, we are not in favour of holding elections to panchayats and DDCs,” a J&K government source said, also pointing out that the DDCs set up by Delhi have not been able to get much work done for a variety of reasons, including the security situation.

Sources at the Centre said that the panchayat polls were earlier delayed as the government wanted to hold them after the Assembly elections had been conducted. A commission’s report on reservations to other backward classes in the local bodies is also awaited.

However, an official said: “The Centre is keen on elections to panchayats and other local bodies. It is among the key thrusts of changes that the Centre intends to bring in J&K.”

In his maiden address to the newly elected J&K Assembly in November last year, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said: “Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies will be strengthened by conducting elections at all levels, for ensuring peoples’ participation in decision-making.”

Under the J&K Panchayati Raj Act and Rules, it is the “government” which notifies the holding of elections for panchayats and DDCs in consultation with the “Election Authority”. However, there is continuing lack of clarity on powers of the government and Raj Bhavan in J&K, in the absence of clearance of business rules by the Centre.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah often credits the Modi government with “bringing democracy” to J&K via elections, including for panchayats in 2019, giving the people “35,000 representatives” at the grassroot level, and for DDCs in December 2020.

Shah says that by doing this, the Modi government had broken the power of “three families” who would hold democracy in Kashmir to ransom, and would not allow panchayat elections.

The DDCs were envisaged to fill the political vacuum in J&K following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

However, the performance of both the panchayats and DDCs is seen to be underwhelming.

Omar Abdullah has been pushing hard for return of statehood to J&K, beginning with passing of a resolution in the Cabinet as the first act of his government. He subsequently made a representation to Modi and Amit Shah over the issue and also brought up the subject in his speech during the inauguration of the Sonamarg tunnel in J&K, in the presence of the PM.

In his speech, Modi reiterated the Centre’s line: that statehood would be returned at “the appropriate time”.